October 13, 2008

Credit Crisis Slows Spinoff of GE’s Industrial Arm

Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Reuters reports today that due to the credit crunch and continued housing slump General Electric Co. is having a hard time spinning off its consumer and industrial arm. The only part that is attracting interest right now is its appliances unit. The CFO told the news service that if the company received a “tremendous offer” for the appliances unit, it would consider saying yes.

Keith Sherin tells Reuters:

“If you look today with housing where it is and with questions about the economy where it is, it’s a challenging transaction. The world we’re seeing today is in a lot of turmoil. But once …

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McJunkin Red Man Acquires LaBarge Pipe & Steel

Companies, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

McJunkin Red Man Corp. has acquired St. Louis, MO-based LaBarge Pipe &Steel Company.

LaBarge Pipe &Steel distributes carbon steel pipe for use in the North American energy infrastructure market. LaBarge Pipe &Steel Company is one of North America’s largest stocking distributors of large diameter carbon steel pipe, serving companies in the oil &gas transmission, petrochemical, utility, industrial and construction markets.

LaBarge operates four sales offices in St. Louis, MO, Houston, TX, Birmingham, AL and Charlotte, NC and a manufacturing facility in Wagoner, OK.

Headquartered in Tulsa, OK, and Charleston, WV, McJunkin Red Man is a distributor of industrial pipe, valves and fittings and related products and services to the energy industry. …

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Fastenal Sales Grow 17.1% in 3Q

Companies, Fasteners, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN, reported sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008, were $625 million, an increase of 17.1% over the third quarter 2007.

Profit increased to $72.9 million in the third quarter, an increase of 17.3%.

The third quarter of 2008 included a $10 million legal settlement.

Sales for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008, were $1.79 billion, an increase of 16.4% over the same period in 2007. Profit increased 23.1% to $217.1 million.

During the first nine months of 2008, Fastenal opened 140 new stores, representing an increase of 6.5% since Dec. 31, 2007. There were 13,417 total employees as of Sept. 30, 2008, an increase of 11.7% from Dec. 31, 2007 and 12.7% from Sept. 30, 2007.

The full release on …

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Canadian Housing Permit Value Falls 13.5% in August

Building Materials/Construction, Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

As a result of declines in both the residential and non-residential sectors, the value of building permits in Canada fell 13.5% to $5.6 billion in August, a level similar to the one observed in March 2008, according to Statistics Canada. On a year-to-date basis, permits were down 0.7% from the same period last year.

In the residential sector, the value of building permits declined by 9.3% to $3.4 billion. This decline was mainly due to a 17.5% drop in multi-family dwellings, coupled with a 3.8% decline in single-family dwellings. New Brunswick (+42.5%), Saskatchewan (+2.6%) and Prince Edward Island (+1.5%) were the only provinces with increases in the residential sector.

After …

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U.S. Machine Tool Consumption Up 4% From July

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

August U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $323.07 million, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 4.0% from July but down 11.5% from the total of $365.14 million reported for August 2007. With a year-to-date total of $3,001.95 million, 2008 is up 12.7% compared with 2007.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.

August’s results are in line with historical trends, which tell us that the month preceding the International Manufacturing Technology Show tends to be lower than in non-IMTS years because buyers …

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Zep Announces New Professional Product Line

Chemicals & Plastics Distribution, Companies, Facilities Maintenance (MRO), Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Zep Inc., Atlanta, GA, announced the launch of its new Zep Professional product line focused on the industrial distribution market, and new agreements with industrial distributors that serve targeted market segments.

By focusing on the voice of the customer, it became clear that nearly 40% of the U.S. customer base prefers the services that industrial distributors have to offer,” commented John K. Morgan, president and CEO. Both announcements go towards achieving Zep’s goal of obtaining 10% to 15% of its revenue of sales through industrial distributors.

The new product line focuses on a variety of markets, including manufacturing, hospitality, government, health care, schools and food service.

Zep has also secured new agreements with W.W. Grainger, …

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October 13, 2008

Credit Crisis Slows Spinoff of GE’s Industrial Arm

McJunkin Red Man Acquires LaBarge Pipe & Steel

Fastenal Sales Grow 17.1% in 3Q

Canadian Housing Permit Value Falls 13.5% in August

U.S. Machine Tool Consumption Up 4% From July

Zep Announces New Professional Product Line

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